What I Have Learned So Far

[Green Gaia]

Some of you may have heard me mention Mary Oliver's work before; Feathers shares my love of her poetry, I know. I got her latest book today, a collection called, New and Selected Poems, Vol. 2. When I open a book of poetry or essays for the first time, I just let it open as it will in my hands and read first whatever is on the page in front of me. Of course, I did the same with this new book and the page it opened to had the poem What I Have Learned So Far written upon it. This title immediately caught my attention because just this week I had written a letter to a loved one titled very similarly. It was uncanny.

So I thought I would share it with you all. I hope you enjoy.

What I Have Learned So Far - Mary Oliver

Meditation is old and honorable, so why should I
not sit, every morning of my life, on the hillside,
looking into the shining world? Because, properly
attended to, delight, as well as havoc, is suggestion.
Can one be passionate about the just, the
ideal, the sublime, and the holy, and yet commit
to no labor in its cause? I don't think so.

All summations have a beginning, all effect has a
story, all kindness begins with the sown seed.
Thought buds toward radiance. The gospel of
light is the crossroads of -- indolence, or action.

Be ignited, or be gone.

 

[michel]

Some of you may have heard me mention Mary Oliver's work before; Feathers shares my love of her poetry, I know. I got her latest book today, a collection called, New and Selected Poems, Vol. 2. When I open a book of poetry or essays for the first time, I just let it open as it will in my hands and read first whatever is on the page in front of me. Of course, I did the same with this new book and the page it opened to had the poem What I Have Learned So Far written upon it. This title immediately caught my attention because just this week I had written a letter to a loved one titled very similarly. It was uncanny.

So I thought I would share it with you all. I hope you enjoy.

What I Have Learned So Far - Mary Oliver

Meditation is old and honorable, so why should I
not sit, every morning of my life, on the hillside,
looking into the shining world? Because, properly
attended to, delight, as well as havoc, is suggestion.
Can one be passionate about the just, the
ideal, the sublime, and the holy, and yet commit
to no labor in its cause? I don't think so.

All summations have a beginning, all effect has a
story, all kindness begins with the sown seed.
Thought buds toward radiance. The gospel of
light is the crossroads of -- indolence, or action.

Be ignited, or be gone.

I rarely have time to read, and I know I miss out on a lot. I love the message in that piece; thanks for sharing it.

 

[Sunstone]

Meditation that leads us to insights and values we cannot apply outside of meditations seems a bit...what word am I looking for here? A bit useless? But that would imply meditation is not of value in itself, simply for its own sake, which is something I believe. Beauty for the sake of beauty. Meditation for the sake of meditation. Love for the sake of love. Still, if one cannot apply something of what one learns from any of those things that are valuable in themselves, then there seems something wrong with that.

Thanks for posting Oliver, Maize! She's one of my favorite poets and thinkers. What else in her new book strikes you?

 

[Green Gaia]

I haven't made it past that poem yet, Phil. I've read it perhaps 2 dozen times already. I'm still digesting it and each time I read something different stands out for me. But I've gotten out of it pretty much what you have. I see it as a call to action for those things in which we believe in.

I will have to sleep on it and then read it again in the morning before I can move on.

I'm going camping next weekend and I can't wait to take this book and sit in the middle of the woods and read it (the main reason I bought it now). *meditating smilie*

 

[Feathers in Hair]

Thank you so much for posting this! :hug:

While I haven't yet met a Mary Oliver poem that I don't love, this one seems especially relevant to my life at the moment. "Be ignited or begone." It sends shivers down my spine- the good kind.

I think reading this in the forest will be a wonderful experience! Please let us know about what you think!

 

[Bastet]

I like it. Can't wait to hear what the rest of it is like!